Combination drinking-cup wrapped product package



P. VANDERS 3,

COMBINATION DRINKINGCUP WRAPPED PRODUCT PACKAGE Sept 1, 1970 Filed Jan.15, 1969 7111111111/ VI L\ FIG. 4

I! if if FIG. 5 v 7/ United States Patent 3,526,317 COMBINATIONDRINKING-CUP WRAPPED PRODUCT PACKAGE Paul Vanders, 345 58th St, Apt.3.1, New York, N.Y. 10019 Filed Jan. 15, 1969, Set. N0. 791,464 Int. Cl.B6511 79/00 US. Cl. 206-47 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A combineddrinking-cup wrapped product package is disclosed. The package includesa drinking-cup section made integral with a Wrapped product section, thelatter having hermetically wrapped therein a product, as for example, anaspirin, which normally is consumed by the user in accompaniment withtaking a drink of water. The wrapped product section of the package isjoined in frangible juncture with the drinking-cup section at a tearline along which tearing action can be applied to separate the wrappedproduct section from the drinking-cup section.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Certain types of medicament products such asaspirin, vitamins and the like are most usually consumed by the user inaccompaniment with taking a drink of water to facilitate swallowing theproduct as well as to initiate dissolution of the same. Certainmedicaments are taken by first dissolving them in a cup of water beforeconsuming them. While the packaging of the medicament product so that itmay be carried in single, double or other specific dose quantity on theusers person is a relatively simple matter, the user does not alwaysfind it convenient to carry a drinking-cu or like liquid retainingreceptacle with him when travelling or being present in public areassuch as athletic stadiums, theatres and the like where the availabilityof a drinking-cup is not a certainty. Provision of a convenientlycarried and simply used combination drinking-cup product package isknown in the prior art. For example, the Gabbard Pat. 2,967,609describes a combined paper drinking-cu and package which can be used forthe purposes set forth above. According to this patent, the paperpackage which in opened condition is an essentially flat structure isopened and the medicament or consumable contents packed therein areremoved to allow the package to be folded in a manner that permitsformation from folded segments thereof of a conical drinking-cup.However, this package has several drawbacks. For one thing, themedicament or product must first be removed before the cup portionthereof can be erected. Moreover, a portion of the product containingpart of the package must be folded to form a handle for holding the cup.In addition, the package does not lend itself to manufacture by modernhigh speed production methods except by use of special equipment bothfor cutting the package blank and for folding and adhering together thepackage segments when folded about the product to be contained therein.The Baxter Pat. 3,129,815 describes a package which offers some solutionto the problems of simplifying manufacturing techniques and avoidance ofthe need to first remove the product from the package before it issusceptible for use as a cup. However, according to this patent, thepackage must include a springy side fold of rounded character which isformed by folding or doubling over the sheet from which the package ismade. The folding operation adds to the manufacturing costs of thepackage and the manner in which the folded sheet is sealed along the oneside at an inclined angle so as to rigidize the cup structure, makes itdiflicult to form the package in a simplified continuous manufacturingprocedure. The Smith Pat. 3,363,750 describes a package in which aproduct in pill form is enclosed, the package being designed such asthat when opened the pill can either be removed or left inside thepackage so that when the seal holding the front panel to the rear panelis broken and the front panel pulled away, a drinking-cup is formed.However, since the front panel must be made with a number of fold linestherein, it is a relatively expensive and complicated matter to makesuch a package and hence this patent offers little solution to theproblems overcome by the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a combineddrinkingcup wrapped product package which can be manufactured relativelyinexpensively in a continuous manufacturing operation from a continuousstock of material and without need to employ complex manufacturingtechniques or machinery. According to the invention, the package is madefrom two coextensive elongated sheets of material possessing thecharacteristics of being airimpervious, heat sealable and embodying acertain quality of strength to Withstand manufacturing, storage and ultimate use handling. For example, the sheets may embody a layer of astrength providing material such as a metallic foil and a thin layer ofa plastic material which is both air-impervious and heat scalable. Thesheets preferably are arranged with the plastic layers face-to-facethereby readily adapting the sheets for closure into a package structureand hermetic sealing of same by a heat sealing operation. The packageincludes a drinking-cup section connected in frangible juncture with awrapped product section at a transverse tear line formed in the sheetsat a location intermediate the ends thereof. The drinkingcup section isclosed at one end with a heat sealed narrow band and also at the sideswith narrow heat sealed bands, the bands at the sides extending fromsaid one end to the tear line and being of substantially uniform widthWith each other and with the band of said one end.

The wrapped product section isformed by the sheet portions extendingbetween the tear line and the other ends of the sheets. A medicament orlike product in suitable form such as in tablet or granular form issandwiched between the sheet portions forming the wrapped productsection and the sheet portions are joined to each other in a heat sealedconnection which completely encircles the product and extends to thetear line. Thus, the product is isolated from the atmosphere in a sealedenclosure of a hermetic character to prevent exposure of the product tomoisture or air which over a period of time could stale the product. Inuse, the user separates the wrapped product section from thedrinking-cup section by applying a tearing action along the tear line.Thereafter the medicament can be removed from the wrapped productsection by ripping or tearing it apart, the nature of the sheet materialand thickness of same being such as to allow tearing it with adeliberate digitally applied tearing action. If the medicament isprovided in tablet form and in plural quantity in the package, eachtablet may be individually sealed independently of the others andseparated therefrom along appropriate detachment lines to allow openingthe hermetic sealing of only the actual tablets required for use whileretaining the preservative packaging of the remaining tablets. Themedicament product once removed from the wrapped product section maythen be dissolved in water in the drinkingcup section or consumeddirectly by the user. The drinking-cup section once separated from thewrapped product section has an open edge where it was joined to thelatter at the tear line and thus becomes adapted for erection into cupform by inserting a finger to separate the sheet parts a distance, or bypressing inwardly at the heat sealed side edges of the drinking-cupsection to bulge the two sheet parts outwardly of each other, or both.

Various other objects, features and advantages of the invention will bemade apparent from the description that follows, and the illustrativeembodiment described herein and depicted in the drawing.

The invention accordingly comprises the article possessing the features,properties and the relation of elements all as exemplified in thefollowing detailed description, and the scope of the invention will beindicated in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a plan view of a combinationdrinking-cup wrapped product package made according to the presentinvention being shown as one of a continuous string of such packagesmanufactured in continuous manufacturing operation.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view in somewhat smaller scale than employed inFIG. 1 showing the manner in which the wrapped product portion isremoved from the drinking-cup section of the package preliminary to useby a user.

:FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the manner in which thedrinking-cup section is erected to form a receptacle for holding wateror like liquid.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are sectional views on a somewhat enlarged scale and astaken along the lines 1'VIV, V-V, respectively, in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view in reduced scale showing the manner inwhich the package may be folded to reduce its size for the convenienceof users carrying same.

In the following description like reference numerals are used to denotelike parts in the drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The present invention provides acombined drinkingcup and wrapped product package of a personal naturewhich can be easily carried by the user, retains its package integrityuntil used and which is conveniently employed at the time of use.Moreover, the package is economical and simple to make, is compact inform and easily stored. It will be understood that the package of thepresent invention is intended for use with products of a widedescn'ption both as to character as well as to form. For convenience,the product is referred to herein generally as being a medicamentproduct. Thus the package can be used with aspirin, analgesicalkalizers, vitamin pills and like products usually consumed by the userin conjunction with taking a drink of water, the medicament either beingswallowed directly by the user or being dissolved first in the water.However the use of the package is not limited solely to that purpose.For example, the product used therewith could include carbonatedbeverages, concentrated foods, soups and the like. Moreover the productcan be provided in tablet, granular or consumable capsule form.

Turning now to the drawings, and more particularly FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5,the package 10 of the present invention includes a drinking-cup section:12 and a wrapped product section 14 with the drinking-cup section {12being connected in frangible juncture with the wrapped product section14 at a tear line 16 along which as may be noted in FIG. 2, a tearaction can be applied by the user to separate the wrapped productsection from the drinkingcup section. The tear line 16 can be a line ofspaced perforations, a weakened section or other suitable means by whichthe two package sections can be separated.

As was indicated earlier, the construction of the present package issuch as to lend itself to effective manufacture in a continuousoperation and from a continuous stock of material which attributes willbe more readily discerned from the package description now to be given.

Package 10 in a preferred and convenient constructional embodiment isformed from a pair of coextensive elongated, preferably rectangularsheets 20 and 22 each possessing properties of strength,air-imperviousness and heat sealability. ISuch properties can beprovided in the sheets by making them as a plural layer structure. Thuseach sheet may have a plastic material layer 23 such as a layer ofpolyethylene .010"-.O15" thick to provide the heat sealability andair-irnperviousness and a layer 25 of a strength producing material suchas a foil of a metal, preferably aluminum. In forming the package, thesheets 20, 22 can be arranged in plastic face-to-face juxtaposition andheat sealed together in the manner to be described, with theair-imprevious layer thereby providing an impenetrable barrier to theentry of air and/or moisture to the package both in the wrapped productsection and the drinking-cup section.

In forming the package, the sheet parts defining or forming thedrinking-cup section 12 are joined in a heat sealed connection of anarrow continuous heat seal band which extends at one end of the sheetsas at 28 and along the sides from said one end of the sheets to alocation intermediate the ends of the sheet and more particularly fromsaid one end to the tear line 16, with the heat seal bands at the sidesbeing formed as at 30 and 32. Thus, the continuous heat seal bandarrangement 28, 30 and 32 encloses that portion of the package definingthe drinking-cup with the drinking-cup section when separated from thewrapped product section having an open end edge at the tear line toprovide access to the drinkingcup for filling same with liquid.

The sheet portions forming the wrapped product section 14, which are theportions between the tear line 16 and the other ends of the sheets havesandwiched therebetween a medicament product with the product beingprovided in any one of tablet form, granular form, or consumable capsuleform, as earlier described, the prod uct being shown in the drawings byway of convenience as being a pair of tablets 40 and 41. As can be seenin FIG. 5, the tablets 40, 41 are sandwiched between the sheet portionsat a location between the tear line and the said other ends of thesheets, with said sheet portions being joined in a heat sealedconnection which completely encircles the tablets and which extends tothe tear line 16. In this manner, the tablets are completely isolatedfrom the elfects of the atmosphere, particularly any moisture therein,and the package possesses a hermetic seal character capable ofpreserving the quality of the product for an indefinite period of time.

When the medicament product is provided in individual dose quantitiessuch as in the form of one or more tablets, each tablet preferably isarranged in the wrapped product section spaced a distance from theothers so that a substantial expanse of heat sealed sheet materialseparates the respective tablets, thereby allowing that detachment lines62 extending, for example, longitudinally of the wrapped product sectioncan be provided in the wrapped product section thereby formingindividual segments 44 thereof associated each with an individual tabletto permit removal of the respective tablets individually withoutaffecting the hermetically sealed wrapping of the others. The detachmentlines 62 can be perforations or easily tearable means similar to tearline 16.

When the user wishes to utilize the package 10, the wrapped productsection 14 is removed from the drinkingcup section 12 in the mannerindicated in FIG. 2, by applying a tearing action along the tear line16, thereby opening one end of the drinking-cup where it was attached tothe wrapped product section to allow for filling with water. The userthen obtains the required tablets by tearing the wrapping segment 44enclosing same. This is easily accomplished with deliberate digitallyapplied tearing force since the thickness of the material of the sheets20, 22 while adequate for packaging purposes is not such as to make itdiflicult to open same at the time of use by application of a deliberatetearing force. The user then erects the drinking-cup section to form thecup structure shown in FIG. 3, the drinking-cup section beingsuflicient- 1y deformable to shape it into a cup structure by spreadingthe sheet parts a distance apart. This can be done by inserting a fingerbetween sheets 20, 22 at the open end edge of the section 12. Asqueezing pressure applied against the cup section side edges as at 30,32 and tending to squeeze them together will also aid the sheet parts ofthe cup section to bulge away from each other in the manner shown inFIG. 3.

As was indicated earlier the package of the present invention is suchthat it can be made in endless form from an endless stock of materialsby feeding two sheets of plastic coated metallic foil stock along aproduction line producing a succession of packages 10 joined at the endsalong tear lines as at 50 in FIG. 1. The string can thereafter be cutinto individual packages to facilitate use of the package in vendingmachines, etc. Moreover, the package may be provided with a fold line orcrease as at 60 to facilitate folding the package in half to reduce itssize to a further extent for ease of carrying on ones person.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above among those madeapparent from the foregoing description, are efficiently attained and,since certain changes in the package construction set forth above, maybe made without departing from its scope, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrativeand not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A combined drinking-cup wrapped product package including adrinking-cup section and a wrapped product section connected infrangible juncture with said drinkingcup section at a tear line alongwhich a tearing action can be applied to separate said wrapped productsection from said drinking-cup section, said package comprising firstand second coextensive elongated sheets of heat sealable andair-impervious material, the sheets being superposed face-to-face, saidtear line extending across said sheets intermediate the ends thereof,said sheets being joined to each other in heat sealed connection of anarrow continuous band extending at one end of said sheets and along thesides from said one end to said tear line to form said drinking-cupsection, said wrapped product section being formed by said sheetsbetween said tear line and the other ends thereof,

a medicament product sandwiched between the portions of said sheetsforming said wrapped product section, said portions of said sheets alsobeing joined to each other in heat sealed connection which completelyencircles said product and extends to said tear line, separation of saidwrapped product section from said drinking-cup section by tearing alongsaid tear line exposing an open end edge in said drinking-cup section,said cup section being a sufliciently deformable structure to be shapedinto cup form by spreading the sheet parts forming said cup section adistance apart.

2; The package of claim 1 wherein the medicament product is in the formof at least one tablet sandwiched between said sheet portions.

3. The package of claim 1 wherein each of said sheets is comprised of alayer of strengthening material and a layer of heat sealable andair-impervious material.

4. The package of claim 3 wherein the strengthening material layer ineach of said sheets is a foil of a metal.

5. The package of claim 4 wherein said metal is aluminum.

6. The package of claim 3 wherein said heat sealable and air-imperviousmaterial is a plastic material.

7. The package of claim 6 wherein the plastic material is polyethylene.

8. The package of claim 1 wherein the medicament product is in the formof a plurality of tablets sandwiched between said sheet portions, theheat sealed connection between said portions of said sheets completelyencircling each tablet independently of the others.

9. The package of claim 8 wherein each tablet is associated with its ownsegment of said wrapped product section, each segment being separatedfrom the others by detachment lines permitting removal of the tabletsindividually from said wrapped product section.

10. A combined drinking-cup wrapped product package including adrinking-cup section and a wrapped product section connected infrangible juncture with said drinking-cup section at a tear line alongwhich a tearing action can be applied to separate said wrapped productsection from said drinking-cup section, said package comprising firstand second rectangular sheets each having a plastic layer and a metalfoil layer, the sheets being superposed with the plastic layersface-to-face, said tear line extending transversely across said sheetsintermediate the ends thereof, said sheets being joined to each other inheat sealed connection of a narrow continuous band of generally uniformwidth extending at one end of said sheets and along the sides from saidone end to said tear line to form said drinkingcup section, said wrappedproduct section being formed by said sheets between said tear line andthe other ends thereof,

at least two tablets of a medicament product sandwiched in side-by-sidespacing between the portions of said sheets forming said wrapped productsection, said portions of said sheets also being joined to each other inheat sealed connection which completely and separately encircles each ofsaid tablets and which extends to said transversely directed tear line,separation of said wrapped product section from said drinking-cupsection by tearing along said tear line exposing an open end edge insaid drinking-cup section, said cup section being a sufiicientlydeformable structure to be shaped into cup form by spreading the sheetparts forming said cup section a distance apart.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 249,942 2/1964 Australia. 873,7067/1961 Great Britain.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner J. M. CASKIE, Assistant Examiner

